significant push towards a consistent top 25 team is one main reason...fan support.
The energy at the Marriott Center is electric. Almost every game is sold out. Students would camp outside for tickets if allowed.
And we don't need a really good team for that to be the case. Everyone figured BYU would perform poorly their first year, but the place would have sold out regardless. Contrast that to the U of U...they actually had a decent team last year. But nobody cares. For whatever reason, Utah fans don't care at all about basketball. Even if they are good.
Players and coaches don't want to go to a place where nobody shows up. They want the Marriott Center Magic. And that magic leads to much more revenue, which is allowing BYU to roast Utah in attracting coaches and basketball talent. Its a good time to be a basketball fan of BYU.